After the first stage of 60 shots in 1 hr 45 min Ward was in fifth place and progressed to the eight-man final of ten shots, one at a time within 75 seconds.
Through some excellent and consisting shooting in this stage, the Island Games medallist managed to overhaul those ahead of him to finish with the bronze medal, with Mick Gault, OBE, taking the Championship win.
‘It’s the highest finish I’ve ever achieved in the National Championships – that’s not too bad, is it!’ said Ward. ‘The first day at Bisley was a complete disaster because we got up at 5 am to fly to the UK, then we drove to the range from Gatwick and went straight on and tried to shoot a good score but I was about 30 points below average. But the second day, the qualifying for the Nationals, was much better and everything went really well.
‘A lot of the training we are doing with the performance coaches provided by Education, Sport and Culture seems to be having a really good effect, and although it’s normally a nerve-wracking event, I didn’t get too nervous because I’m fairly confident in my ability.
‘Last year I was fourth, so next year second and in two years I’ll be saying ?Watch out?!’
Mary Norman achieved a top-eight finish in the Senior Ladies’ Air Pistol Championship as she shot to fifth place.
David Turner finished seventh in the Men’s Air Rifle Championship, holding on to his place despite a strong challenge from the shooter in eighth, who was only 0.1 points adrift going into the last shot.
Michael Quenault and Jennie Ward also attended the event, finishing midfield in their respective events.
